[ad_1]
COVID-19 vaccine booster is highly effective for immunocompromised people, doubling the number of people who have developed antibodies among patients who have received heart, lung or kidney transplants, according to early results of new research from Beilinson Medical Center in Petah Tikva.
The first results of the study, published by the hospital on Tuesday and currently under peer review for publication in a medical journal, found that 73% of people who have already received a kidney transplant developed antibodies and an immune reaction to the third dose of vaccine, while only 35% had developed antibodies after the second shot.
The first results released Tuesday were based on 40 immunocompromised patients who had been tested for antibodies before and after receiving their third injection. The full study will be based on 300 patients, the hospital said.
Of those who received a lung transplant, 33% developed antibodies after a booster, while only 18% did so after the second injection. Of those who had a heart transplant, 58% had an immune reaction, compared to 31% after the first two doses.
No major side effects were observed apart from pain at the injection site.
“We recommend everyone who has received organ transplants to come and get vaccinated with the third vaccine, which saves lives,” said Dr Tuvia Ben Gal, director of the Beilinson Heart Failure Unit. , in a press release accompanying the results.
Meanwhile, according to a leading expert, the first data collected in the healthcare system suggests that booster injections generally help prevent COVID-19 infections.
“The indications that we receive are indeed very preliminary but they are very, very good in [terms of] prevent infection, ”Gabi Barbash, former director of the health ministry, told Channel 12.
He added that there would be better data on the effectiveness of the booster around the weekend and said that if the numbers “looked like they are now,” the health ministry would likely recommend over the weekend. 40 years of receiving a third vaccine.
Israel began offering the third dose of COVID vaccines to all adults with weakened immune systems last month, citing “accumulated evidence” that they are not adequately protected after their initial doses.
A man receives a booster dose of the coronavirus vaccine at Sheba Medical Center outside Tel Aviv on July 12, 2021 (Courtesy Sheba Medical Center)
The health ministry’s decision was based on the deliberations of Israeli doctors and officials. This was done before regulators like the United States Food and Drug Administration (FDA) allowed boosters for these people.
This is not the first time that Israel has taken the lead in American or European regulators: in early 2021, Jerusalem authorized vaccines for immunocompromised children before the FDA adopted the vaccines for children.
Later in July, Israel rolled out a third vaccine against healthcare workers and citizens over 60, in another pioneering step.
The Health Ministry said on Monday that of the first 600,000 Israelis who received a third dose of the vaccine, less than 50 reported experiencing side effects.
Officials have tried to encourage Israelis to receive the vaccines, in hopes that a critical mass of vaccinations in the coming weeks could avoid a nationwide lockdown to stem the spread of the ultra-contagious Delta variant of the coronavirus.
Prime Minister Naftali Bennett on Monday called on Public Security Minister Omer Barlev and Israel Police Commissioner Kobi Shabtai to strengthen law enforcement against violators of the coronavirus restrictions over the next eight weeks, including the detriment of other operations, in order to help prevent Israel from entering its country. fourth containment since the start of the pandemic.
Stores closed at the Dizengof Center in Tel Aviv during a nationwide lockdown on January 7, 2021 (Miriam Alster / Flash90)
Of the estimated 9.3 million inhabitants of Israel, more than 5.8 million have received at least one dose of the vaccine, nearly 5.4 million have received two and nearly 580,000 have received a third booster.
At the same time, more than 6,000 people in the country tested positive for the coronavirus on Monday, a daily figure not seen since early February. In addition, the number of severe cases has approached 400.
Out of 130,669 tests performed on Monday, 6,275 returned positive, for a positivity rate of 4.84% – the highest rate in Israel since early March.
As of Tuesday morning, 648 people with COVID are hospitalized, including 394 in serious condition, including 64 on ventilators.
[ad_2]
Source link